Kept in the closet a worn rattan;
When Ben or his brothers did what was wrong,
Their father would chant them this horrible song:—
“Run, run, to my closet as quick as you can,
And bring me my rat-te-tee, tat-te-tee, tan!
And with it I’ll rat-te-tee, tat-tee-tan you,
Until with your eyeses you crieses, boo-hoo!”
Ernie gasped for breath.
“Is that all?” asked the inexorable Miss O’Connell.
“No, ma’am,” answered Ernie, plaintively; and spurred on by the recklessness of despair, she began the last stanza:—